The theme for this year was ‘Big Data, Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Leading Innovation towards Obsolescence’. The three-day knowledge extravaganza boasted of eight sessions panning lectures and panel discussions by 48 eminent speakers that will help the future managers in learning new trends.

Inaugurating the session, Prof. Debashis Chatterjee, Director General, IMI had laid emphasis upon the change that has incurred in the human evolution throughout, citing historical examples like Babur and Britshers who used advanced technologies in their respective era. He further said that the technology change is not a linear process, changing throughout and advancing at a breakneck speed and set pace for the event that would be an edifying session for the students.

During the first session, Mr. Tabrez Ahmed, Director – Government Affairs at eBay spoke at length about the impact of technology on human deployment at work. He stated that the boost in the Information Technology Sector created millions of jobs, whereas Artificial Intelligence will be the biggest contributor to job-losses in times to come. Adding the human element to this factor, Mr. Dinesh Pillai, CEO, Mahindra Special Service Group said that AI will reduce job opportunities, but, in no way can the involvement of the human entity be ignored when dealing with AI.

The second day commenced with the Operations Summit gave the students the opportunity to imbibe useful insights on the theme of ‘Evolving Identity of Operations Industry 4.0’. With the advent of Industry 4.0 the business world has witnessed marvels in the manufacturing processes and digital integration in operations.

The last summit for the second day was the Economics Summit. The speakers for the summit Mr. Rakesh Seth, Director, International Consulting Professionals’ Institute, India, Dr Saurabh Bandyopadhyay, Economist, NCAER, Dr S P Sharma, Chief Economist and Principal Director of Research, PhD Chambers of Commerce and Industry, India, Mr. Jay Shankar Shrivastava, Chief Economist and Director, Religare, Mr. Rajkumar Sharma, President, AICRA drew from their real life experiences to emphasize their take on the issues

How deep is the crisis of automation and what are its implications?

What public sector policy needs to be undertaken in order to establish equilibrium among labour and capital?

The debate during the Economic Summit showcased a positive aspect to technological advancements that the automation of trivial activities would leave humans with more resources on their hands in the form of time, which could be utilized in learning newer, more relevant and forward looking skills. Talking of the exponential pace at which technology arrives, Mr. Rakesh clarified that, “It isn’t the job that is being transferred, it is the work that is being redefined”. The session further threw light on the relationship of policy on labour and skilling.

The next summit on Strategy talked of digital destiny, in terms of the implications automation and artificial intelligence would have on the practice of strategy formation and novel paradigms of management. The speakers for the summit were Mr. Pradeep Gupta, Chairman, Cyber Media Group, Ms. Prativa Mohapatra, Vice President, Cognitive Solutions IBM, Mr. Rajan Mehta, CEO, Live Media, Mr. Rajiv Manalal Gupta, Managing Director, Nextinc.live, Mr. Shishir Kapoor, Co- Founder, Resonance Data Management, chose to keep the forum open and limber, under the moderation of Mr. Anupam Saronwala, former Country Leader and Program Director, IBM Research.

The theme chosen for the last session, the Entrepreneurship Summit was ‘Technological Disruptions: A survival instinct for start ups’. The session was moderated by Prof. Supriya Kalla, Professor Marketing, IMI, Delhi with speakers, Mr. Chinmay Agarwal, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Jugnoo, Mr. Milind Sharma, Co-Founder, Nuvo Logistics, Mr. Vishwanath Ramarao, Vice President of Technology, Hike Messenger, Mr. Ankit Aggarwal, Founder, Dare2Compete, who enunciated the students with the current and future implications of artificial intelligence and big data on start-ups and businesses in general.

During the conclusion ceremony, Prof. Debashis Chatterjee, Director General, IMI thanked the eminent guests for sharing the pearls of wisdom and laid emphasis on imparting knowledge and equipping the future managers with the know-how of technological trends before commencing their professional journey.

The 6th edition of Conventus concluded with thought-provoking ideas provided by the 49 eminent speakers enabled the future managers to create an understanding regarding Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. Conventus 2017 truly witnessed the ‘coming together’ of ideas, discussions and perspectives with students, faculty and staff uniting to discuss the impact of digitization in today’s dynamic environment.

About IMI (New Delhi):

Nestled in the Qutub Institutional Area, International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi was established in 1981 in collaboration with IMI Geneva (now IMD Lausanne). IMI, New Delhi is India’s first corporate sponsored business school established with the support of corporate houses like: RPG Enterprises, Nestle, ITC, SAIL, Tata Chemicals, BOC and Williamson Magor. Over the last 35 years, the Institute has grown in its stature nationally and globally for providing high quality management education. This is evidenced through the Institute’s International linkages with UNDP, World Bank, ILO, UNCTAD and Asian Productivity Organisation.

IMI, New Delhi’s strengths across diverse management disciplines, backed by an excellent team of faculty and the strong network with eminent organisations, helps deliver the Institute’s commitment towards its vision of being a premier global management school.